Independent Laois County Councillor Ollie Clooney has pleaded with the Council to clean the River Erkina.
The Durrow based Councillor says that the river, which is a tributary of the River Nore, has become ‘one big flood plain’.
The River Erkina has its source on the Laois-Kilkenny border south of Rathdowney.
It flows north towards Rathdowney and then turns east in the direction of Durrow entering the River Nore around 1.5 km east of the town.
Cllr Clooney said: “The river is like one big flood plain – you wouldn’t know where the river is actually supposed to be.”
Engineer Edmund Kenny outlined the steps that the Council intended to take to help with flooding from the river.
He said: “In 2023, Laois County Council engaged ecologists to inspect and identify obstructions to flow in the river channel along the River Erkina.
“It is proposed that works will be undertaken in 2024 involving the removal of fallen trees and large debris which are causing significant obstruction to or the deflection of river flows during high-flow events.”
While Cllr Clooney welcomed this, he said that the big problem in the river is the build up of silt.
He said: “I saw a documentary on Sky recently and there was a problem with a flooding river.
“They planted Christmas trees on the banks and this helped to prevent it but ultimately it is about silt.
“The works proposed will help but the silt must go.”
Supporting Cllr Clooney, Cllr James Kelly said: “We are all blue in the face talking about this.
“Government departments are holding everyone back and not allowing work to be carried out.
“There was great work done in Mountrath recently and when the heavy rain fell, the river was down about a foot from where it would normally be. We need the same here.”
Fine Gael’s John King said: “It is easy for city-living people in the Dail to sit there and make these decisions.
“I would like them to come down and look at what it is like when a river floods and the damage it does to land.”
In a separate motion, Cllr Clooney asked that public lighting be erected on the Mill Road in Durrow.
He said: “There are 30 families out there and just one light about half way down.
“Mill Road is forgotten about. I was at a funeral out there recently and couldn’t believe how dark it was.”
It was agreed that an engineer from the roads department would meet Cllr Clooney to investigate the possibility of erecting lights.
Finally, Cllr Clooney asked that an upgrade of the footpaths in Cullohill take place.
It was agreed that engineer Edmond Kenny would join Cllr Clooney to inspect the current state of the existing footpaths.
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